TRIAL 01

[thecomputer]

Attention, Citizens! You have ten minutes to proceed to the Loyalty Chamber. Anyone who is late to the Loyalty Chamber, or who brings any weapons into the Loyalty Chamber, will be immediately executed.

[Once you arrive, you will find a large chamber, with twenty podiums spaced around the room in a circle. On the ceiling, a massive screen showing the digital eye of The Computer, turning to look at whoever is talking.]

You have one hour to come to a consensus about who to eliminate. Ties will be broken randomly.

[The floor of the chamber begins to split apart, eventually only leaving the twenty podiums as safe places to stand, above a seemingly bottomless abyss. Each podium lights up with a touch screen showing twenty user IDs (Seryu-R-CIT-1 is grayed out), plus the word “ABSTAIN”. The trial begins now!]

[[Vote Here.]]

Comments

[ossifragant]

I don't know if there's much point to that.

She's dangerous, but no matter who we vote for, it's a stab in the dark.

[standbyrival]

If you're convinced it's a blind shot, why argue against it?

[ossifragant]

Because impulsive decisions are usually the incorrect ones.

[standbyrival]

I find it less impulsive and moreso getting rid of a distraction. Ask yourself this instead, why do you gain from keeping her around, whether or not she's a communist?

[ossifragant]

Interesting question.

[But he's not going to be giving an answer.]

[standbyrival]

Hmph. Interesting lack of argument. Whatever, if you're neutral on it, be quiet, abstain, and let the rest of us handle it.

[ossifragant]

You seem quite insistent on this matter.

Are you that eager to get blood on your hands?

[standbyrival]

[he gives him a very. very. slow blink]

I am twelve years old. I'm at a severe physical disadvantage compared to most of you. I have a career back home I want to get back to. I want to live. I don't want to have people threatening to gouge out my eyes and pluck out my finger nails.

I'm eager to put a stop to this stupid exercise. If it means voting one of you to your deaths, so be it. Unless some of you are secretly pokemon trainers, you are not from my world, and I have nothing to be guilty about.

Now do you have some actual reasoning to throw my way, or do you just like looking smug?

[ossifragant]

[If you think being twelve is going to stop him.]

Say we kill her and she's a Citizen, then that means we will number eighteen to six. Get it wrong again, sixteen to six.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

[standbyrival]

Obviously.

Let's say the opposite happens--she is a Communist, and we let her live. What then? Your argument pretty much applies to every single one of us right now.

Look. As long as someone keeps her away from me, I don't care if she lives. But if we're voting blindly, people are going to vote for whoever they think is a personal threat at the moment. Do you see where I'm going with this? I don't know if you're friends with her or something, but if you want to redirect some attention, you need a better argument.

[schrodingers_man]

You said it yourself. She's dangerous and any vote would be a stab in the dark. Isn't that point enough?

[ossifragant]

The way I see it, she only has two chances left. If she's stupid enough to waste them maybe we won't have to do a thing.

[schrodingers_man]

My point is that we won't be able to do a thing!

Look at that thing running this! It's a computer! Do you understand how computers work? They follow the rules! They follow the rules exactly! The exercise ends when we identify and eliminate all of the Communists! But when somebody dies by running out of clones, all it says is that it can't bring them back any more! It doesn't say anything about eliminating them from the exercise! What happens if she dies and she's a Communist? We can't execute someone who's already dead! We'll be stuck! Do you want out of here or not?

[ossifragant]

[Well, no. He hadn't thought about that because he'd never heard of a computer before yesterday.]

....you might have a point.

[plentyfriendly]

Look, let's just do this.

Computer, if someone runs out of clones and dies, are they eliminated from the exercise?

[thecomputer]

Thank you for your question, Citizen! If a participant's supply of backup clones is exhausted, then they are eliminated from the team-building exercise.

[plentyfriendly]

And there we go. If, and I don't think she will, Moge-ko runs out of clones and is a Communist, it's the same as if we voted for her in one of these trials.

[1/2]

[schrodingers_man]

...

[schrodingers_man]

[ There's so much relief in Yomiel's resulting laughter that forget just hearing it, you can practically taste it. ]

[ossifragant]

[Greed shoots him a look, but says nothing.]

[dictator_ko]

You're assuming I'd die three more times.

[cantarellacookie]

You won't be attacking Mr. Yomiel after the trial?

[Anthy's tone of voice is fairly measured. On her shoulder, however, Chuchu bares his teeth at Moge-ko.]

[dictator_ko]

I'll be a good girl. ♪

[cantarellacookie]

The same way you're a good girl with Miss Ikusaba?

[She heard Mukuro admit she was keeping Moge-ko under control by letting her hurt her.]

[dictator_ko]

She's just showing her love to me. ♪